Conflict Research Consortium ARTICLE SUMMARY

"Transformative Approaches to Training: The Case of Somalia"

by

John Prendergast

Citation: John Prendergast, "Transformative Approaches to Training: The Case of
Somalia," sect. in Building Peace, by John Paul Lederach, (Washington, D.C.: United
States Institute of Peace, 1997), pp. 178-180.

This article summary written by: Tanya Glaser, Conflict Research Consortium.

Prendergast analyzes conflict in Somalia using Lederach's models of conflict and
peacebuilding. In the early 1990s Somalia was in a state of anarchy, overwhelmed by
violent conflicts between rival warlords. The 1993 Addis Ababa peace agreement set forth a
two-track approach to restoring peace and civil order to Somalia. Grassroots peace
building activities would complement peace negotiations among the rival warlords.
Prendergast argues that the grassroots peace building activities of Sweden's Life and
Peace Institute (LPI) exemplify Lederach's transformative approach to conflict resolution
training. This transformative approach "suggests that training is less about the
transfer of content than it is about the creation of a dynamic process involving key
people who together focus on the realities of the conflict in their context."[p. 178]

The 1993 Addis Ababa agreement provided for the creation of district councils. These
councils would become the lowest level of administration in the reformed Somali
government. The LPI has established training centers to offer district councilors training
in management and administration.

As a grassroots peace building initiative, the district council approach has some
drawbacks. The council plan was drawn up without local community input, and so communities
may feel little ownership of the councils. In some places the councils are redundant, or
have been marginalized when they threaten established local interests. Over-hasty UN
implementation of the councils suffered problems with achieving accurate representation,
funding shortages, and external manipulation of elections. There are also questions
regarding district boundaries, and council authority and jurisdiction.

Nonetheless, the LPI training program has had positive results. LPI centers have
trained hundreds of local community leaders. Training centers bring together a wide range
of council members, and encourage cross-community communication. They offer an opportunity
for councilors to explore their alternatives and their role in conflict prevention.